Katherine Bergeron (born 1958) is an American musicologist and academic administrator who served as the 11th President of Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2023. Selected by the college's board of trustees in August 2013, she took office on January 1, 2014.[1] On March 24, 2023, she announced she would be resigning as president at the end of June 2023.[2] On her last day in office, the college board of trustees awarded her the title of President Emerita.[3] Leslie Wong succeeded her as interim president of the college.
Bergeron was born in New London, Connecticut, in 1958. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in music from Wesleyan University and master and doctoral degrees in music from Cornell University.[4] [5]
As a musician and a historian, Bergeron's scholarship has focused on French music and culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[6] She is a two-time recipient of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publisher' Deems-Taylor Award for her books Decadent Enchantments (University of California Press, 1998) and Voice Lessons (Oxford University Press, 2010). Voice Lessons also received the Otto Kinkeldey Award from the American Musicological Society.
Bergeron has held professorships at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tufts University, University of California at Berkeley, and at Brown University, where she also served as dean of the college from 2006 to 2013.[7]
On August 20, 2013, the Connecticut College Board of Trustees elected Bergeron as the 11th president of Connecticut College. Bergeron took office on January 1, 2014.[8] [9]
Bergeron has supported overhauling the Connecticut College curriculum. During her tenure, Connecticut College received the largest gift in its history to support financial aid, career education, and athletics.[10] The College also completed a $10 million renovation of the Charles E. Shain Library that transformed the mid-century facility into a more modern space. The library has received several design awards for its architecture.[11] [12] [13]
In May of 2016, student occupiers moved into Fanning Hall to demand accountability from the Connecticut College administration regarding its handling of alleged bias incidents.[14]
Bergeron was the subject of controversy in early 2023 after she reportedly scheduled a Connecticut College fundraising event at the allegedly racist and antisemitic Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Florida, despite the urging of the college's Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion, Rodmon King. This was listed as one of the key factors that led to his resignation.[15] On February 27, 2023, students began an occupation of Fanning Hall in protest, which lasted ten days.[16] Faculty also took a vote of no confidence over her presidency. On March 24, 2023, Bergeron announced that she would resign at the end of the Spring 2023 semester. On June 30, 2023, her last day in office, the board of trustees awarded her the title of President Emerita.
Bergeron is married to Joseph Butch Rovan, a composer and multimedia artist who is professor of music at Brown University and former director of the Brown Arts Institute.[17]
A selection of Bergeron's publications include: